


Beyond the Kingdom

by WarmDogFur (InnerChildUnleashed)



Category: Epic Mickey, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Darn, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Put Oswald in Kingdom Hearts, Swell, hot dog - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 05:44:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14372178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnerChildUnleashed/pseuds/WarmDogFur
Summary: Picture this; you've been fighting all your life to protect what's precious to you without question. Once you achieve peace, you wonder what is that you really consider precious. Friends? Family? Your home? You realize you never really thought what your goal was, you just assumed that was what you had to do. What do you do next? - Post KHIII, Epic Mickey/Oswald in KH babeyyyyyy!!!!if you're familiar with my shit you know it's just the same sad trash. might need legal assistance.





	Beyond the Kingdom

**Author's Note:**

> For years I had the review of this one game, Epic Mickey, burned in my brain. It was kinda foggy, but I recalled reading it was heckin great. Last week the Spyro remaster was announced, people cared about platformers again; I downloaded a Wii emulator and torrented both Epic Mickeys. Cried during the first one, tried to hire a hitman from the dark web after finishing the second one.
> 
> I found a tiny but dedicated group of people who wanted Oswald in Kingdom Hearts, and they have my full support. I don't know where I was going with this but anyway here's a sad crossover.
> 
> hehe uwu

"Well… and now what?"

The war was over, and back in Yen Sid's study our heroes - hold on, I think it's better if you're given a summary of how the whole thing went first.

For the most part it was the same old, same old; Sora & company traveled to different worlds in order to protect them from the forces of evil making friends along the way, Riku and Mickey 'saved' Aqua from the Realm of Darkness, and Lea and Kairi trained in preparation for the upcoming clash between two opposing ideals. So far so good, even better if you take into account that Ventus had been awakened from his slumber and Sora was able to keep his keyblade because in the end he had gained the power he needed to become an independent wielder, without relying on another's keyblade bearer's heart to use it. And that's where the good news ended.

After over a decade of absolute isolation, only interrupted by the need to fight to stay alive, Aqua had become… someone different; her "I'm master Aqua" speech could only help her cope with her reality so long, and finally she inevitably fell in an almost animalistic state. She had become a creature of instincts, doing whatever meant necessary to survive, exchanging the social skills she could not use for other, more primal abilities; she had learned to target anything emanating darkness as a threat and her body moved without the need for her to command it to act, her human needs had been reduced to the minimum possible for her to be able to defend herself… in short, she had become a severely traumatized killing machine.

Her first reaction when she saw Riku and the king? Attacking them. The duo, not of pure light but more of a twilight alignment, carried the ability to use darkness, and that alone sent her over the edge. Surprisingly enough, after all she had gone through, she had been able to avoid the influence of darkness, but since her faith was all she had, her sanity had suffered the consequences.

In the end they were able to take her back to the Realm of Light, sure, but at a very high price. Yen Sid's intention was having her as one of the Guardians of light, yet she was not fit to be put on a battlefield; doing so would have been dangerous – more than for anybody else – and unnecessarily cruel. Who knew who she'd identify as an enemy… the three good fairies were in charge of her; they were the closest thing to any real medical help they could find in any given world, and Aqua didn't perceive them as threats.

After his encounter with Vanitas at Monsters Inc., Sora was told about Ventus and his whereabouts; after a conversation with Mickey and his master, they decided that maybe it'd be for the best if the Destiny Islander met the one that bestowed the ability to use the keyblade upon him, and even better if that included the possibility of Roxas's lookalike waking up and joining them.

In a way you could say the plan worked thanks to some unorthodox help from Aqua – more specifically her screaming "Ven! Castle!" over and over again. After exploring the castles they already knew of, like the one in Radiant Garden or the Disney one, the king of the latter suggested a different destination; he and Riku still remembered Castle Oblivion. Another search and the blond keyblade wielder was found, but not without Sora experiencing more heartaches and flashbacks of memories he was unaware of. By then it wasn't anything extraordinary, you just had to let them happen.

Yes, Ventus awoke, but his newly recuperated heart brought some extra baggage with it. Simply put, his and Sora's hearts were like two different hard drives; those experiences and memories that should belong to Ventus went back to their rightful owner. That included Roxas's existence and emotions, the skills Sora had developed thanks to his inadvertent help, and the memories Naminé had kept away from the younger; hey, they had to go somewhere.

The final result was not too positive; the rush of thoughts that suddenly entered the older made him go catatonic shortly after waking up, and Sora was severely weakened due to the loss of what initially made him strong. His friends had become his power, literally; he was still able to summon his keyblade, yet it was as if he had never left the Destiny Islands. He remembered all the people he had met in his journeys, his adventures, his battles, what kept pushing him forward… however, his heart didn't; he had the will and muscle memory to wield the keyblade, but he was as skilled as he was back when he first held it in his hands, depending entirely on Donald and Goofy to fight the heartless. Able only to execute physical combos, and lacking the time to train for the clash of light and darkness was about to occur, Sora was deemed unfit to fight and the Guardians found themselves short of three members.

Riku, Kairi, Lea and Mickey were the only four wielders left, and only two possessed the title of keyblade masters. But that wasn't the only problem.

Kairi was the only one in the group that possessed a heart of pure light, being a princess and all, and while the other three shared her convictions, their hearts could use both light and darkness. No matter how well they could fight or what they believed in, Kingdom Hearts wouldn't recognize them as true Guardian of Light. This meant that they were even further away from meeting the requirements for the fated clash, and also that the X-blade could not be created. That last part would probably be problematic for Xehanort, since that was his ulterior motive, but they could do without helping the enemy.

So, going into the destined battle, this is how things were: Team Light only had four players, one of them sort of an honorary member looking for retribution, Sora, Ventus and Aqua were unable to participate and under the care of the three good fairies plus Donald and Goofy, who weren't allowed to even go near the battlefield for they'd be no match against thirteen Xehanorts, and they also were unable to get Terra back since his  _norted_  self was still split in Xemnas and Ansem. Yeah, it didn't look too bright for the Guardians.

Did they have an ace up the sleeve? No, not quite; Kairi was the most determined one of the group, Lea's mind was clouded with questions about Ventus and Roxas no one wanted to answer, and Mickey and Riku had been busy in what could be called a rogue research after their experience in the Realm of Darkness, something not even Yen Sid knew about. Would it be a waste of a fight? Probably. On the bright side, that made things easier; they'd show up with no real expectations of winning or fighting at all, which made the situation all the less stressful.

And there they were, the thirteen darknesses and sort of four lights, face to face in the Keyblade Graveyard. The beginning was as dramatic as you imagine, with Xehanort giving a speech about fate and darkness and the X-Blade… but when he realized only Kairi was paying attention and that his vessels were going to be fighting four opponents, his apparently calm yet threatening demeanor shifted drastically, infuriated because that wouldn't fulfill the true Kingdom Hearts' conditions.

His rage was quickly paused by the rodent leader of the Guardians; he asked a question that confused even the more stoic of the members of the new Organization.

"Do ya think you're Jesus Christ?"

"…excuse me?"

Mickey wasn't joking.

"You're the leader, you have twelve other followers who you've forced to share your view of the world, you follow Kingdom Hearts blindly, and you think you're some sort of rightful savior."

While he and Riku were looking for Aqua, the younger brought up the concept of religion after comparing the Realm of Darkness to the Christian hell, and that caught the king's attention; he went on to learn about the Bible, other religions, the concept of heaven, the concept of god… and he found many similarities between those and his current situation. The blue haired boy joined the Mouse in his investigations, and together they gained information on how religions worked, the power faith could have, and how it could give place to all sorts of conflicts in extreme situations.

For once Xehanort was receptive; without the X-Blade there was no point in fighting, so instead he chose to listen to what the king had to say. Sure, he could try and kill the Lights, he would even succeed, but he needed them to accomplish his goal.

"So, Kingdom Hearts is like god."

"Not quite; Kingdom Hearts is the heart of all worlds, and-"

"And it can grant great power and wisdom and whatever you wish for, we know. Everyone does."

Their exchange went on for quite a while, with Mickey saying that a moon shaped like a heart didn't really mean anything, that as far as he knew the 'heart of all worlds' could be referring to something akin to a planet's core, that the power it supposedly concedes could be compared to heaven, and calling Xehanort a terrorist for committing all sort of questionable acts in name of Kingdom Hearts while throwing subtle jabs at their poor educational system.

The older master retorted mentioning the Book of Prophecies, which Mickey compared to the Bible.

"Listen, you stubborn king, the book says it is fated that light and darkness must clash to create the X-Blade. It's happened before, the Keyblade War-"

"That's just like the Bible or the Quran promisin' a paradise if you follow a determined way of life, that's why Holy Wars are a thing."

"They fought bravely for-"

"For nothin'! Saying that hearts go to Kingdom Hearts when someone ' _disappears'_  is like tellin' a kid his dog goes to heaven after it dies!"

"If you're so sure, then tell me where keyblades come from."

"What if they're unrelated? I know a guy with a shotgun-sword but he's not goin' after Kingdom Gunpowder."

The rest of members of each group tuned out when Mickey yelled that the Organization was "literally ISIS;" not even the addressed association wanted anything to do with that. Kairi asked Riku what was going on, but all the boy could reply was 'I think I made the king an atheist.' Vanitas tried approaching them at one point, perhaps to intimidate them, perhaps to fight the princess of light to create his own X-Blade, but he left quickly after the girl called him 'Soravril Lavigne.' It seemed they weren't going to fight using their keyblades, but with words instead.

"Okay, let's say you create your own world. Then what? You go around killin' infidels, women and gays?"

"I don't… that's not what's going to happen."

"You don't know what's gonna happen! You don't even know if Kingdom Hearts actually exists! What, people killed each other over it years ago and you thought it was so neat you want it to happen again?! You're only workin' with faith here! If ya wan'ta control the world just go to Agrabah, grab Jafar's lamp, and wish for domination or somethin'!"

"That's not what the book says…"

Mickey's voice was growing in volume and pitch, which wasn't appealing to anyone, while Xehanort's had transformed into a series of murmurs only the mouse could hear. Was he winning his personal fight against the elder?

"Okay, how old is that book?"

"According to legend-"

"You said it, legend, a doggone  _myth_ , not facts. Now give me a number, how many years?"

"…legend says the Book is older than time itself, but the first sighting of a keyblade in History dates from the sixteenth century."

The king went on to say how wrong Xehanort was for believing a book with no clear author that as far as he knew was a bad copy of the Bible. Then he questioned the purpose of keyblades, alleging that since they lived in a universe where magic was common, they could be seen as mere toys. It kept going downhill from there.

Lea assessed the situation, and he believed that it'd be less dangerous to go socialize with the members of the Organization he once belonged to than to stay near the rodent. At least he knew what to talk about with his old…  _comrades;_ evidently he'd keep some distance, he didn't want to become another Xehanort nor he had any interest in world domination, but at heart he just wanted everybody to get along. Fighting was a gosh darned drag.

Surprisingly enough, a non-leader Xemnas was more communicative than one obsessed with acquiring Kingdom Hearts.

"So, what's up?"

"Nothing new."

"Neat."

Way more communicative. Shortly after, Marluxia – now Lauriam – joined the conversation, and following a friendly exchange that involved calling each other traitors and asking if weren't they supposed to be dead – no hard feelings since when that happened they weren't supposed to have feelings – Lea learned something very interesting.

"And what's having an old man inside you at all times?"

"You mean the being part Xehanort? We quit that."

"Mind elaborating?"

"Braig, Xemnas, his twin and I have plans to betray the geezer; you know, we have our own things going on." He understood that, Lea had dreams of entrepreneurship as well. "Heart attack gramps there was essentially sucking the youth out of us, and we said 'why are we doing what he says?'"

That was brave of them, or so thought the red haired man.

"Can't he, like, kill you?"

"Not exactly. Xemnas regained the memories of the guy Xehanort originally possessed a few weeks ago and he knows how to keep the old man at bay; no matter how powerful you are, no curaga can heal arthritis." All Lea could imagine was that bringing back Aqua and Ventus had something to do with that; he had heard from Mickey and Yen Sid about a guy named Terra and the misadventures he had gone through. For once the pieces were falling into place… more or less.

Summing up, the Organization's secret plan was getting rid of Xehanort. It was convenient, to say the least. Lea also learnt that even the baldie's protégé, that Sora lookalike, wanted revenge because "he was a shit dad." Goofy had a kid, right? There was some counseling to do in that general area.

The red haired wielder even got to meet the most recent members, like Crubex and Axtek, a middle aged married couple that had a kid to send to college. "Our names are actually Bruce and Kate, but this job pays well and the insurance is fantastic, we don't care what he calls us or what we have to wear." Apparently Xehanort was desperate to reach Kingdom Hearts, but if he was helping economy, more power to him – metaphorically speaking. Although, since when did they have insurance?

"What about Isa?"

"He's… doing better, I think. You know how he is."

It was hard to tell what that really meant coming from Marlu- uh, Lauriam, but he didn't have much time to ponder on his ex-friend's wellbeing when Xemnas asked him if he knew someone named Ventus. It was kind of out of the blue, but Lea sure did, and that gave place to a fruitful conversation with the remnants of Terra about who he considered an old friend.

Meanwhile, the exchange between Mickey and Xehanort had kept on escalating. The elder had acknowledged that their dispute came from a difference of opinions and misinformation, and he said he'd even reconsider his actions after making the connection between religion and Kingdom Hearts himself, but the mouse wanted to bash his point in. He asked for a phone, Kate lent the rodent hers, and after closing several tabs of racist Minions memes, he searched and found ISIS tortures and executions; he gave the device to the older master as he repeated over and over "this is you, this is what you want, you're a cultist, a lunatic!"

The rest of non-participants could only observe in awe and certain empathetic grief as the old man covered his mouth and silently cried looking at the footage the king had forced him to watch, falling to his knees and slowly shaking his head; that wasn't what he wanted, he just thought he could make things better for everybody if he was in charge.

"You know how many people have died because of you?! You know the hell we had to go through because of you?!"

No, Xehanort never considered that. While his actions had always been selfish, he only saw them as the right thing to do, and the consequences he foresaw were those he got from the Book of Prophecies – something as simple as "do X and Y will happen," completely ignoring his surroundings. In the end he understood that forcing his convictions on others wasn't the right thing to do, even if Mickey had done exactly that to make him acknowledge his misdoings; was any of them doing the right thing, or were they settling for the least detrimental alternative? The only certain fact was that they had different goals and opinions, and that at least one of them had spent his entire life working towards something he'd never achieve.

No weapons were summoned during that battle, if you could call it that, but it seemed like Xehanort had lost; Mickey made his dictatorial dreams vanish, and no one present, losers and victors alike, felt proud about what happened.

After that a dumbfounded and vulnerable Xehanort asked Mickey how he could amend his mistakes; that let the mouse know he was in control, he had the older master's life in his hands, but just like every shounen anime protagonist, he was forgiving at heart. What else could he do? Xehanort was too powerful to be imprisoned, and Mickey wouldn't kill him; the best alternative would be resorting to an old cliché – turning the enemy into an ally, making him use his power toward more positive purposes. The rodent replied that he'd have to discover that by himself; a good first step would be releasing Maleficent and all of the darkness users he had influenced from his control, which should reduce the number of heartless populating the worlds, and a good second would be gathering two thousand hearts for some friends of his.

Everyone present was out of the loop; the keyblade master and righteous leader of Disney Kingdom himself wanted to use the power of hearts? Riku was something akin to a confidant to the mouse, but not even he knew what that was about. Kairi, however, began imagining what could be happening…

"Riku, are we the bad guys now?"

"I… hope not." He did hope that, especially because it was him who inadvertently planted the seed of whatever that was in Mickey.

And after that, their mission was over.

Their goodbyes were awkward; Lea wanted to keep in touch with Xemnas after his literal change of heart, and the silver haired man accepted without hesitation. The last thing the former organization member heard from his old leader was that he had to apologize to Aqua, and Lea told him he'd have to wait a little until she… recovered. Overall, he had the most fulfilling experience there.

The Guardians of Light could witness the dissolution of Organization XIII live; a "you're free to go," and twelve black cloaks hit the dirt under their feet. Not even the youngest iteration of Xehanort doubted he was doing the right thing; he still believed that was destined to happen, even if it meant learning he would devote his life to something he wouldn't even accomplish. That place wasn't only a cemetery for former keyblade wielders anymore.

One by one, they disappeared through corridors of darkness, going on pursuing other goals in some cases, and returning to where they belonged in others. All of them, except for one.

"I thought you'd be the first one to leave." Vanitas was still there. He knew well why, and deep down Xehanort did too, but the boy was too proud to say it out loud.

"Someone has to remind you when to take your pills, old man." After all, both of them still had hearts, even if they liked to act as if they didn't.

And with such…  _heartwarming_  scene, the Guardians of Light abandoned the area, a feeble feeling of safety being the only positive thing most of them had gained. Mickey, however, wouldn't disregard their feat, and at the time none of the other keyblade wielders felt like questioning his activism; he wouldn't be denied of his bittersweet victory.

"That's it? We won?" Kairi wasn't fully convinced they had accomplished much. She and Lea had been training for months, and in the end they didn't even get to fight at all. And how could anyone trust that the bad guys had changed? It just didn't feel right, who knew what they'd do next?! Was she the only one worried about that?!

"Yeah, and we didn't even have to fight. Ain't it great?" Mickey on the other hand was feeling like never before; that didn't mean he was particularly proud of his - let's say… triumph, nor that he was sure everything was over, but at the very least they had earned a break. And since Sora wasn't there, he had to be the most cheerful one of the group. Adding a high pitched "haha" at the end of his sentences was bound to improve the mood.

"I guess, but it's a little anticlimactic…" That was unquestionable. They had fantasized about how that battle would develop, but seeing an old man crying and being abandoned by his pals wasn't really part of any of their lucubrations.

"By the way, if Sora asks, we used the power of friendship to turn all of them good and we missed him. And Donald and Goofy too."

And that's how we reached this point.

* * *

"And now what?" Sora, innocent and optimistic as always, believed the story he was told; why wouldn't he? His friends won with the best possible outcome and they had no reason to lie. No more bad guys, no more Organization, heartless might disappear as well; all was good! He'd have liked being there to tell Xehanort he was a meanie to his face, but a victory was a victory, even if he could only offer his moral support; more importantly, they still had to plan what to do next. Call a DJ? Have a feast at Disney castle? Have a narrator with a deep voice say they were heroes as the screen faded to black?

Lea left without uttering a word; he wanted to check on Ventus, and even if he would never admit it, he kind of blamed Sora for his state. The Destiny Islander wasn't really at fault for anything, but the older couldn't help it; he saw more of Roxas in Ven than in Sora, and learning that the nobody he was friends with wasn't even really the boy's made things harder. He'd ignore it all if the blond wielder could go back to his normal self, whatever that implied, even if he had forgotten about Lea. Besides, he didn't have other friends to tell he had been there to witness the most awkward battle in History; he didn't really feel like a winner, he had nothing to feel proud of.

"Aren't we gonna celebrate?"

Kairi said she'd go back to the Islands; she still had to go to school and try to resume her more normal life. Sora didn't find that interesting or fun, but it was what she wanted to do and he wouldn't stop her. The problem was that it seemed they weren't going to have the party he thought they deserved… why wasn't anyone as excited as he was?

Donald and Goofy silently gestured at their king asking for a proper explanation; they weren't as naïve as Sora, they knew the mouse well and it was clear something was awry. All he did in response was subtly extending his palm indicating them to wait; they could realize Sora was the only one not supposed to learn the truth, and their only option was complying.

It was Yen Sid who decided to intervene next, already aware of the truth without the need of being explained what really happened; if you're wondering why, read his name backwards and add 'magic' to it. Really, he had a magic ball… although Yen Sid backwards doesn't spell 'ball.' In any case, he was against keeping secrets from his pupils, but Mickey was a master as well and he had to respect his decision; aside from that, the king was also a dear friend of his, and he didn't mind doing him a favor. He simply said that surely the warriors were exhausted after such a fight even if it didn't involve any physical confrontation, and of course Sora believed him; the tone of his voice didn't indicate he was lying, and it made perfect sense to him. Well, they could savor their victory the following day; that should give them enough time to at least buy a cake.

He tried to stay around a little longer, but the bearded wizard and keyblade master stated that he required a private debriefing from the other two masters in the room; it was a polite way of telling him and everyone else but Riku and Mickey to leave. Donald and Goofy would have to wait for that explanation… well, they could always go visit their friends in other worlds and give them the good news – no, let me rephrase that; Sora wanted to tell everyone they had won and Donald and Goofy were forced to go with him.

"You think Pence will give me his Game & Watch if I tell him we saved his life?"

As soon as Yen Sid's studio door closed he demanded to know the specifics of their battle. Mickey explained everything in detail, not even trying to hide what Riku thought the wizard could disapprove of, and the bearded man laughed at the idea of telling the big, bad guy that Kingdom Hearts wasn't real and making a grown man cry. That was… unusual, to say the least; even more disconcerting was the following question Yen Sid formulated.

"Mick, you sure you want the kid to know?" He was referring to Riku. His teacher-like formalities had completely vanished, his voice sounded less strict, and the aforementioned mouse gave the older man a somewhat complicit wink, stating that "Riku here knows how to keep a secret or two."

That's when the boy felt more than compelled to ask what was going on. Man, he was in for a wild ride.

Not getting into much detail, most of his life had been a complex and formulated lie; Mickey and Yen Sid told him that they, along with Donald, Goofy and co., didn't belong to his world. Riku thought he knew that, but they weren't considering the same definition of world; the Disney characters were referring to a completely different universe.

"Okay, and that's the thing you don't want me to know?" The boy didn't know how to feel at the moment;  _confused_  almost conveyed it, almost. Did the darkness mix up their universes or something? Yeah, you could say that.

"In our world Mickey isn't a king and I don't train kids on how to use keys, we're actors – pretty good at it if I may add – and for once we decided to be writers, directors and producers of our own content." Yen Sid began explaining as Mickey excused himself to make a couple phone calls; he had a very busy life beyond being a 'keyblade wielder.'

"…what?"

That's when things started to get interesting.

"We heard about your universe, the keyblades, the heartless and all that jazz, and we thought we could get something good out of that; you know how hard it is to find other worlds where magic is a thing? We sent some 'field researchers,' set up a few things for you and your pals to react to, and then we came here. In short, these have been the most challenging roles of our lives, mainly because it's been improv for the most part, but it's been worth it."

"You… I don't…" Riku was at a loss for words. All that time, those he thought were his friends were… acting?

"Good thing is that this has all been kind of a 'pre acting' to get ideas to write about, sort of a brainstorming session, and it's been great; we brought in some of our teams and assets – you know Pete, Maleficent, Pinocchio and the whole gang, right? – and the interactions between your people and ours has been pure gold! Then that Xemnas guy showed up, and then the Organization, and Xehanort… this whole thing wrote itself!"

At that point everything entering Riku's ears was white noise; he was numb, completely dumbstruck staring at the wizard's table, ignorant of everything around him as the older man kept on explaining. His mind could only assimilate bits of the information being laid on him… all those people weren't real? Had he been playing a role too? He, and Sora, and Kairi, Ventus, Aqua… had they been fighting for nothing? To entertain someone else?

"You kids are fucking crazy! Who lets a teenager grab a sword and go out there fighting and killing whoever opposes them? Damn, your parents must be proud – and I am too! Most of the scripts are done, we have two films in preproduction, and we didn't even have to pay our own actors because  _this_  counted as an acting course! It's like what that Sandler guy does, taking his friends on vacation during film shootings, but better; we just had to choose some roles to play and fuck around while you almost died over and over again. Boy, Mick is a genius."

Mickey was behind all that? No… but Mickey… they were friends… more than friends! They had gone through so much together, they- fuck, no! They shared something special, a bond-

"Think about it:  _Disney's_   _Kingdom Hearts starring Mickey Mouse_. Great name for a franchise, huh? It's gonna be the new Harry Potter, I can tell; you can meet the guy who'll be playing you if you keep this between us."

Riku stayed silent, impotent. He felt… not betrayed, not like a fool, just – he could feel nothing. Everything he had experienced those last few years… a lie. What were keyblades then? Props? If the kin- no, he wasn't a real king; but if Mickey was behind all that why would the keyblade choose him?  _What even was his purpose?!_

Yen Sid observed the quiet boy for a second and shrugged, adding something about budgets and benefits the islander didn't care about at all; the wizard was done with his job and that's all that mattered to him.

"Y'know, Mickey wants you to have your own spin-off. We'll run some popularity polls and (…)" Whatever he was talking about, Riku ignored it.

The next instant Mickey walked in back from the room adjacent to the studio saying something about Aladdin and Hercules going back to a place called "El Ay." Was that their original world? Were they actors too?  _God, Mickey_ … did the mouse really think so little of him and his friends that he didn't care what happened to them? That he'd just risk the lives of a bunch of kids for… for what? Audience? Money?

Could he get an answer?  _Did he want one_? Who cared? Deep down, the only thing Riku wanted to believe was that none of what he had heard was real, that he had fallen unconscious fighting Xehanort, that he was having a nightmare, and the last time he faced a nightmare he did so with his keyblade.

_Yeah, that made sense._

It was the only thing that would make things go back to normal. Fighting was the only thing he really knew how to do. He would fight his nightmares as he did once before for Sora, and no matter the shapes they took, he wouldn't let them deceive him; the Mickey he knew would never do something so despicable.

"Ansem, Xehanort, or whoever you truly are…" Riku was shaking, unable to maintain his breath steady, but convinced that the Organization had been manipulating him into believing his friends were his enemies like Maleficent did once before. "…how could you think this would work?" A nightmare would explain the series of events that prompted that situation; had he been using his darkness too much? Could it seep into his heart again? If that were the case, he knew what to do.

What moments ago were fear, confusion and stupefaction turned into pure, unbridled  _rage_.

" _I'm gonna rip your **heart**  out_!" The artistic duo observed attentive the boy's reaction. His killing intent was almost palpable, and his barely discernible, disconcerted pupils shifted their focus between the mouse and the wizard; he wouldn't let their appearances fool him,  _those_  weren't the Mickey and Yen Sid he knew.

He adopted a fighting stance. He called his keyblade forth.

And everything went black. He and his weapon hit the floor with a low thud and a metallic noise respectively.

He was awake, and everything was true.

"Jeez, Mick; your friendship speeches hit this one deep – we're keeping that last line, though, that was fantastic, so much emotion."

"Was that necessary?" Yen Sid had used his magic to render Riku unconscious; perhaps in the universe where hearts were the main source of power Xehanort was one of the most powerful beings alive, but in Mickey's those kids with oversized keys would turn into some producer's sex toy at best. They were nothing but props, literal walk-on characters; the Disney wizard, capable of creating worlds and strip people of their own identities, had been in control more than anyone could anticipate.

"He threatened us, he has a weapon, and you're an important figure." Mickey didn't like using violence on misbehaving ' _collaborators;'_ he thought he knew Riku well enough as to let him in on their scheme, but as his bearded colleague told him, "he decided to be a little bitch about it."

"He has the right to be angry, we pulled a Truman Show on everyone here and I thought at least he deserved to know the truth." Still not really fair, but why Riku specifically? Did Mickey think he could assimilate it and keep his mouth shut, or…

"Fucking hell, don't tell me you actually like the kid." If the mouse crossing his arms and looking away was any indication, then  _bingo_. Either that or he just thought the Islander was more mature than his peers but… "Is that why you insisted on getting matching outfits? You tried to get your fantasies in a movie again?"

"That has nothing to do with this – besides, what do you care?!" Face to face and with no previous preparation, the rodent was a terrible liar. Honestly, the wizard wasn't that interested; after over fifty decades knowing him, Mickey had few secrets he didn't know of, and no matter how old his big eared ex-apprentice got he could still be as irresponsible as a child – but hearing the mouse get angry was always fun; his voice grew so high in pitch and volume he was surprised he hadn't developed tinnitus yet.

"If producers stopped growing fond of everyone that touches their dicks the industry wouldn't have so many useless pretty faces; you're part of the problem here, Mick." When he wasn't playing a character Yen Sid wasn't the respectable wise man Sora and his friends believed him to be. While in this scenario Mickey could also be considered a sociopath, he still had some humanity in him; at least most of the things he did off screen were consensual.

"Go fuck yourself! He deserved somethin' for his work!" Independently of what could have happened behind the scenes, the mouse thought highly of the young boy, and he had developed affection toward him; even if their reunion had been orchestrated, he really considered Riku a friend, and he didn't like the wizard's methods.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, superstar; I'll erase his memory and we'll give them some munny for the trouble, but you have to admit you have a thing for lost causes."

The rodent let that last statement pass; he didn't feel like arguing, and he wasn't too familiar with shame. Ignoring the smug and somewhat judgmental look the older gave him, Mickey kneeled before Riku, observing the peaceful expression on the unconscious boy; he looked so carefree, without a worry in the world… the mouse envied that, and seeing Riku in such state almost made him feel guilty. He didn't care that much about Ventus, or Aqua… but he took a liking to that one human. Why? Who knows, perhaps he just liked him, perhaps he had some parental instincts deep within him. In any case, Mickey would have wished for a different outcome.

_"I'm sorry things had to be like this, but the company was desperate."_

Yen Sid paid attention to the introspective moment the rodent was having, and he didn't like it one bit; he was stoic, sure, but he wasn't against expressing feelings. That's what got the mouse so far. No, the problem was that he knew Mickey was asking for forgiveness, a forgiveness that would never be granted; if the rodent himself realized that, he might have a change of heart, regret his actions, and make the last fifteen years a waste of time, money and resources. Perhaps that would be beneficial for the inhabitants of that world, but not for them; that wasn't part of their plan.

"Mick, you know there's someone else waiting for you." The mouse did know that. "C'mon, Riku will be fine, I just put him to sleep." Yen Sid's previous insolence wasn't there anymore. After all, he was Mickey's friend too, right? He didn't want anything bad to occur to his former pupil, but at times the younger needed help understanding that his actions had consequences; dumb luck would only last him so long.

"Yen…" Mickey understood right away what the older meant by 'someone else waiting for him.' He forgot about him for an instant, but he was part of his personal mission too; he had a debt to pay.

"Yes?"

"Their hearts are on the way." That meant good news for the mouse, and for many other friends of his. His stay in the Kingdom of Hearts wasn't for business purposes only; he had a secret agenda only he and Yen Sid knew about, one prompted once again by the development of an affective bond and a strong feeling of guilt.

"You wanna go tell them now?"

Mickey nodded silently, placing one minuscule peck on Riku's left cheek before he stood up and faced the wizard, letting him know he was ready to leave. "Give me the brush."

There was one last world he had to visit, but Yen Sid couldn't let his friend leave like that.

"Sure, but when you come back we're rewriting that ending; using the power of atheism isn't a very Disney thing."

He made the mouse giggle, and that was his intention; if the only thing he had to offer to Oswald from the outside world was a frown the rabbit might not want to even visit it. The least he could bring with him was a smile.

* * *

In Sora's world, everybody was born with a heart, and that heart would grow stronger the more bonds it had; in that world it was almost impossible to lose one's heart, for it could never be completely erased and it'd do anything it could to bring itself back to existence. That's how powerful they were.

In Mickey's world, hearts were more fragile; everybody was born with one as well, but those depended directly on how many people loved and remembered their owners. Bonds didn't necessarily make them stronger, however the lack thereof could make anyone disappear; if you weren't remembered, you'd stop existing.

Long ago, Yen Sid created a world for those who had been forgotten. Mickey came into contact with that world and its inhabitants; the first time he almost destroyed it, causing a catastrophe known  _as The Thinning Disaster_ , and the following ones he visited it in order to save it. For a myriad of reasons, a part of him permanently resided in that world;  _Wasteland_ , as it was called, was home to those even Mickey didn't remember, and that included the brother he didn't know he had: Oswald the lucky rabbit, the original face of the company he belonged to. Maybe  _you_  remember him.

Originally, Oswald resented Mickey for he believed the mouse had stolen his spotlight; he blamed him for not being remembered and for sending him to the Wasteland. Over time, Oswald turned that world into the best copy of his original one he could recreate, making it a place the forgotten ones could truly call home, proving they didn't need hearts dependent on how many people cared about them to live happily.

But a young and careless Mickey almost ruined it. Eventually he'd mend his mess, the forgotten ones would revere him as a hero, and he'd realize that in reality Oswald was his older sibling. As far as the rabbit was concerned, in the present, he and the mouse were even, they had a good relationship, yet Mickey wasn't so sure; he had been able to enjoy things Oswald and the rest could only have the leftovers of, and for years he thought they deserved better. During that time he tried to find a way to bring his brother and the rest back to their world, but his attempts had resulted futile; that was until he discovered the world Sora, Riku and the rest belonged to.

The way their hearts worked was the solution to the Wasteland's problems.

In the beginning Mickey was only supposed to investigate and learn about the structure of those hearts, understand what a heartless really was and if they had any relation to the inhabitants of Wasteland, but his higher ups saw a good business opportunity in the misadventures occurring in that world. Since he wanted to keep his true intentions a secret, the mouse decided to carry out the newly created project himself; he threw some other recognizable characters from his universe into the mix and documented the results. Originally he wasn't supposed to participate directly nor to get involved or attached to anything happening there, but as in Riku's case, he couldn't always commit.

Perhaps that's why he liked the boy; he had that big brother demeanor, a little like Oswald… in any case, that side project was finished, and he could focus on his initial task.

Oswald and everyone else deserved a better life,  _no matter the cost_.

All he had to do was go through a mirror and he'd be able to meet the rabbit and the many other citizens of Wasteland once again; just not any mirror, no, but one imbued with the magic from none other than Yen Sid. In reality he was to Mickey's world what Ansem the Wise had been to Radiant Garden, yet instead of science his specialty was the dark arts; what both men shared was a relationship with the mouse, and something about him made the sages walk the extra mile to aid their rodent pal. Well, I guess he was an idol for a reason.

And there he was again.

"Mickey! You're back!" Gus the gremlin was the first one to notice the mouse's presence, so much so that he was already waiting for the rodent by the time he reached the other side of the mirror; oh, gremlins were forgotten creatures too. This one in particular was the leader of his kind, and had previously served Mickey in a way similar to how Jiminy Cricket aids Pinocchio; picture him as a tiny green creature with an orange nose and a bushy white mustache in a red pilot suit – helmet and everything – and add a soft, barely noticeable British accent. The gremlin race was full of mature, wise, magic helpers always willing to serve, it was really hard to dislike them; most of them, at least.

"I am! Good to see ya, Gus!" Mickey instantly mimicked his enthusiasm; he too was happy to see old friends, and the sudden excitement put on halt any other thought wandering his mind.

"My, you've changed quite a bit." That wasn't a complaint; seeing the rodent wearing a shirt was a novelty, and he seemed to be as healthy as ever, perhaps a little more in shape… had Mickey been working out?

The gremlin floated around the mouse for an instant before launching himself at the taller and hugging his big eared pal, asking for permission to do so after the fact, but of course it had already been granted. He had been gone for too long.

After breaking their touch, Mickey began taking in his surroundings; he could see a king sized bed, a couple nightstands, a wardrobe… surely it was someone's bedroom, the question was whose. Before he could ask Gus, someone kicked the door open; that someone had a shotgun aiming directly at them, and that someone put it down the moment he saw the mouse aiming back at him with a brush he knew all too well.

"…Mick?"

"Ozzy!"

Well, that was a… welcome.

After a brief explanation of the wheres and whys – the mirror Mickey had gone through was a refurbished one that sat on top of Ortensia's dresser, since the original one was lost in the destruction of Dark Beauty Castle after his second visit to Wasteland, and after overhearing Gus and Mickey, Oswald assumed a robber had broken into his home and he had to protect his family – the siblings greeted each other properly; the rabbit hugged the younger and lifted him up in the air. He lifted himself as well; out of excitedness he had unconsciously taken off using his elongated ears as helicopter blades, and they only stopped their hovering when they heard Ortensia ask as loudly as she could if the intruder was dead; her pitch alone straightened Oswald's ears right away, making the brothers fall on their behinds.

In case you're wondering, Ortensia was Oswald's feline girlfriend, and together they had over four hundred bunny children. This is worth mentioning because Mickey spent the following two hours greeting nieces and nephews, which tired him out more than any fight in the last five years.

Finally, he was in the situation he wanted to be in; he could talk to Oswald, but when the time came, he found himself unable to tell him he had gotten hearts for all the residents of that world. Before he realized, he had accepted staying over for lunch, Oswald was telling him about what the town and the locals had been up to, and he was greeting the toons that heard Mickey was back in Wasteland; the thing is, he did nothing to stop any of that from happening. He was enjoying living something closer to a commoner's life, and at the time, he didn't want it to end.

When was the last time he had that kind of guilt free fun?

Bickering with Ortensia about his clothes; "plaid and leather? Don't you live in the year two thousand and something?"

Hearing about his former nemesis; "the Mad Doc moved to Tomorrow City and, well, he began actin' like a real doc; you wouldn't believe how many toons got cosmetic surgery. We started gettin' pics and toys of you from, I dunno, thirty years ago? And suddenly everybody in Mean Street wanted ta' have more color and eyes that weren't two black dots on their faces."

"Guess not only the city got renovated, huh?"

The Wasteland got what wasn't needed anymore in Mickey's world, which meant that as time went by, little by little, their technological means advanced as well; the last time he was there the majority of denizens didn't even have access to household electricity, depending almost exclusively on the generators Oswald and his technical skills could put together. Thanks to the evolution of technology and the rapid obsolescence of modern products in Mickey's world, Wasteland had become more independent and on with the times with minimal delay; darn, even Oswald had a cellphone!

Even so, the pocket dimension had changed only in appearance; buildings had better structures, citizens found new jobs and interests… but to Mickey it still had the same homey feeling that, at times, made him wish he too had been forgotten. And to think there was a time when his brother envied his life… when did their roles change?

Playing with the many kids of Oswald, enjoying the laid back atmosphere of OsTown, seeing everybody around him sporting smiles, not having to worry about schedules, scripts, money and contracts; he wanted that. He wanted that forever.

During his lunch at the Lucky rabbit-cat household, Mickey kept wondering if he could somehow replicate that lifestyle in his world; perhaps giving the inhabitants of Wasteland hearts and bringing them back to the place they originally belonged to could be the way to achieve that? No, that wouldn't work; the dynamics in his universe were too erratic and shallow for that to work. What about Sora's world? His kin had been able to pass unnoticed in places he never thought a talking mouse had anything to do; if they were as acceptant of rabbits, perhaps moving to Twilight Town or Radiant Garden-

"Mick, what's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Oswald had been observing his sibling since his arrival, and he noticed something was off; as far as he had seen he was as optimistic and cheerful as ever, but… he didn't really know, he couldn't put it into words, but something just didn't feel right. All he knew for sure was that his brother senses were tingling, and he had to do something about that.

"No I didn't." Ortensia quickly chimed in as she tried to keep tabs on their children; having a guest over had boosted their rambunctiousness and getting them to actually put food in their mouths wasn't an easy task. Plus, Oswald occasionally saying 'kids, listen to your mom' wasn't really helpful.

"Nah, I'm just-" What could the mouse say? He didn't feel like it was the time to tell them he was there to make them leave their home; god, putting it that way didn't make it any easier… he could tell they were happy with their lives and he had no right over them. Fuck, was everything Mickey had done a mistake?

For a second he understood what Xehanort felt when he made him realize his dreams of Kingdom Hearts were a fascist fantasy; the rodent thought he knew what was best for Wasteland, but surely that was just his own psyche looking for ways to forgive himself after turning his brother into an outcast.  _'You selfish piece of shit.'_ Oh no, he was taking too long to respond.

"Guess I'm a little jet lagged, losin' the habit of comin' and all." That was the first thing he could come up with, and he hoped it'd be enough to convince his brother if he added a giggle at the end.

But it wasn't. Oswald could read the rodent's expression; he made that exact same face the first time they talked about  _The Thinning Disaster_. Whatever it could be, the rabbit could tell it was troubling the mouse. Problem was Mickey and he didn't really know how siblings went about bonding and talking about, well,  _their things_. However, he remembered how men did those kinds of things from back when he still was an actor; they didn't have any alcohol, but acts of manliness like mechanical work and talking about women should help still. Those habits hadn't changed, had they? It was worth a shot.

"Tell ya what, once you're done eatin' we're gonna go get some stuff from Micke- uh, the junk mountain; the kids are growing up and some want ta' have their own rooms. Bring that brush of yours and we'll be done in no time."

Mickey didn't have time to hesitate, it was more of an imposition than an offer, but he would have accepted either way; that's what he did whenever he visited Wasteland, help whoever needed it. Picking apart bits and pieces from items with his face on them could be disturbing, but also a little cathartic; he had been a bad mouse, and he felt like he deserved a punishment. Too bad his magic brush was useless in Sora's world… if he could just redesign how things worked, Oswald and Riku and- jeez, no, he couldn't have fantasies of becoming a god too; he made his own choices and he had to face the consequences.

"Sure thing, Os. Ready when you are." But until then, running around a time capsule dumpster would be a distracting pastime.

* * *

_"(…) Alright, now thin the arms and we'll use the palms for the walls. (…)"_

_"I mean, we need wood, but I dunno if they'll want their uncle's head on their bedframe. (…)"_

_"A couple ears from one of those toy phones and we can call it a day."_

Oswald was right; thanks to Mickey's help his work had been way more efficient. Unfortunately, his plan hadn't worked the way he expected; they couldn't really talk about anything since the rabbit was in charge of the crane and the mouse had to move from place to place following orders from the older. The one who did speak, though, was Gus, who tagged along for old times sake; he kept on reminiscing aloud about the previous instances Mickey had used his magic brush, bringing up past fights and misadventures in which he faced the ink blots ravaging Wasteland.

However, at one point he referred to something the siblings would have rather not hearing; the moment when Mickey gave up his heart to save the gremlin leader and the rabbit, and when afterward Oswald considered keeping the mouse's heart because he believed he deserved to have it, even though it didn't belong to him.

Oswald understandably cringed; he had changed quite a bit since that happened, and it really wasn't a fond memory for him, even if at the end he decided to give the heart back to its rightful owner. He tried to throw a heavy veil over Gus's comment, exclaiming Mickey had to keep on thinning part of a monticule until he found more useful materials, but it was too late for the rodent; the gremlin had touched a very sensitive nerve. Mickey had been able to put on halt any thought about hearts or doing the right thing up until then, but Gus drove him dangerously close to losing his composure.

To him it almost sounded as if the fantastic creature were blaming his brother for wanting to keep something that Oswald believed belonged to him, or as if he was being attacked for getting  _his own_  heart back; of course Gus never implied that, however Mickey was – to put it simply – tense. The gremlin was oblivious to their reactions until the mouse turned his head and shot a glare his way that made his mustache tremble; the issue with Mickey having a more detailed design was that he had a wider range of expressions, and the face Gus witnessed was one he never thought he'd see on his rodent pal.

Oswald could only watch the duo's stare-off from his crane's cabin, and it looked anything but friendly; it didn't last long, though, for after a few seconds the gremlin teleported to the leader of Wasteland side just to excuse himself. Suddenly he remembered he had something to do somewhere else. The rabbit wouldn't say anything, he wouldn't force Gus to stay; at least his sacrifice wasn't in vain. Now he was sure there was something wrong with Mickey.

Well, no matter how it came to be, they were alone together at last.

At the time all Oswald asked his brother was if he was okay; the mouse, ignoring the other's position and worried tone, just offered a silent thumbs up and went on to proceed with his previous activity. The rabbit didn't stop him – whatever helped him blow off steam.

Oswald had to wait a little longer until he had the chance to talk to the younger, time he spent wondering what could possibly be going on that made his brother act so…  _un-Mickey-ly_. Problems in his world? Something happened with his girlfriend? Too stressed because of work? He knew first-hand how cruel and demanding his profession could be, especially when you had people observing your every move, the tabloids never having anything good to say, always depending on someone else just to be able to feed yourself…

That was it.

"Mickey! Yo, Mick! We're done!" The mouse seemed concentrated on his task, but he stopped as soon as he heard Oswald calling his name. He looked at the rabbit exiting the crane and, for some reason, he felt uneasy; for god's sake, he had scared Gus away… shit, he was supposed to solve Wasteland's problems, not create more.

Mickey just observed from one of the hills made out of collectibles of himself as the older glided in his direction; how could he fly like that? Didn't the rabbit's ears ever entwine? At what point in his life did he think 'I'm gonna start spinning my ears and become a living helicopter'? Could his bunny children do the same? More importantly, was the mouse being delirious on purpose in an attempt to drown the looming fear that grew inside him as Oswald approached?

"Mick," The answer was yes. "Ortensia packed some snacks for the big boys. She called us that, we're big boys now. You're a big boy, you're taller than me, right? She calls our kids big boys – and girls – too, but y'know… we're bigger. We're the bigger boys, Mick." The thing is, Oswald was nervous as well.

He and Mickey had a good relationship and all, sure, but they had never gone into more personal topics; the rabbit didn't even know if he had the right to meddle in his brother's life. Was it really meddling if he was concerned and wanted to help Mickey? Did Mickey want any help from him? The mouse had helped him before, maybe he wanted to repay him somehow?

"…bigger boys…" The rodent was flabbergasted and feeling dumber than ever before; he had heard the rabbit perfectly, yet to him it sounded like a cryptic message, as if there was something else there he should have understood. Was he telling him that he was angry? Had he somehow found out about what Mickey did in Sora's world?

No, that's wasn't at all what Oswald meant to say. You know it, I know it; it was just, throughout their life, they never had the chance to express real brotherly feelings, whatever those could be. They didn't have a system for that.

A moment went by, both stuck in place, staring at each other while they thought about the right thing to say.

… _hmm_.

Their brains were working overtime but nothing good was coming up; for every thought that seemed okay three more doubts popped up.

… _no, that doesn't work_.

Although, while you're thinking about what to do, you might not be  _doing_  enough.

… _heck it._

Oswald stepped forward and grabbed Mickey by the shoulders, derailing the mouse's train of thought that went nowhere and hijacking his undivided attention; the lapin looked into the younger's eyes, eliciting an unbalanced mix of nervousness and safety, and took a deep breath. His head didn't know what to say, so his metaphorical heart would take the lead. One reassuring squeeze and…

"Mick, I love you." Strong start. "I know we didn't grow up together or anythin' so I never could, uh, act like an older brother, but I really do love ya; because that's what we are, we're brothers, Mick, and I want ya to know I'll be there for anythin' you need." So far so good, Mickey really appreciated hearing that from Oswald; so much so that his blank expression had been replaced by the tiniest and softest of smiles. He was about to thank his brother, but the rabbit wasn't done. " _Anythin'_ , I mean it. If ya- if ya wanted to make up for the time we didn't spend together we could, I dunno… I could give you piggyback rides and feed ya, make airplane noises – the whole thing; I'm pretty good at that."

Somehow Oswald had been able to horseshoe Mickey's emotions in record time; he was concerned again, but now for entirely different reasons. The mouse couldn't find the right moment to stop the older because he kept going.

"I mean, I know we're not babies, we're grown men – or toons, or whatever, but to me you'll always be my little brother. We never met when we were children but I almost see ya as one of my own kids! There's brothers who do that, like in those broken families where the parents are terrible. Look, if ya asked me to tell you bedtimes stories, BAM, I'd be there in a heartbeat; and that's because I care about you, Mick, and I want the best for you."

It was getting bizarre and Mickey had gone back to absolute bamboozledness, not sure anymore of how to feel or interpret what Oswald was saying; his speech was getting messier and more erratic, the grip on his shoulders had gotten tighter, and he could see the older's face getting closer and redder, able to feel his warm breath caressing his nose every time he exhaled. Sharing a moment with his brother was neat, but that – what even was going on?

"Picture- picture this, Mick; you got a booboo? I got a band aid and a kiss to make it better. You're growin' up and feel that yer body's changin'? I'm there to tell ya all you wanna know. You killed someone? I'll help you get rid of the body, eliminate any evidence, and we'll spend the night awake comin' up with believable alibis, makin' sure we don't act suspicious and that nobody knows you did it. I won't tell anybody, I promise on my life."

Uh… Mickey appreciated the gesture. He was petrified and no existent reaction could match what the older made him feel, but he appreciated the gesture. Oswald then one upped his psychosis by grabbing Mickey's cheeks and massaging them – not breaking eye contact at any given moment – and rubbing his nose against the rodent's as he said "my little Mickey. My wee big, wicky, ricky, ticky, titty, tiny little Mickey."

The next instant, Oswald let go of the younger and went back to… normal? He looked more- less, you know… whatever he was doing – he wasn't doing it anymore.

"Ya wan' a juice box?"

In the span of two seconds, once he regained control over himself, Mickey experienced the whole range of emotions the rabbit had stirred within him, mixing everything together and putting it in the oven of chemicals reactions until it culminated in hysteric, rapturous, unrestrained laughter. He didn't know if he was scared or worried or amused anymore; he was unable to stand straight and all he understood for sure was that Oswald had a huge funny bone and that he had beaten him to figured death with it. He could barely breathe, he was confused, and even the older had joined him in his guffawing; god, they were tearing up!

After a solid minute of incessant roaring plus a few extra ones plagued by several aftershocks, Mickey mustered the necessary brainpower to ask what all that was about, and honestly, Oswald had no idea; but he made Mickey laugh and that had to count for something.

"I dunno man, I just want'ta know how you're doin'."

That was the only truth, and he had his wish granted; his insane little monologue had turned the mood and Mickey's lungs to jelly. Maybe the rabbit was better at being the older brother than he thought.

* * *

"So Mick, what brought you back here?"

"I just wanted to see you guys."

"I'd like to believe you, but I can't."

"It's the truth…" Partially it was, but Oswald could see right through him; perhaps he didn't know that much about how Mickey really was, however he could tell he wasn't too good at hiding things from him. There were some signs: his brow furrowed for a split second, his eyes tried to wander somewhere else, his tone decreased in pitch… but if that's how the mouse wanted to play, Oswald would go along.

"Okay, and what about you lookin' like you were about to bite Gus's head off? Ya didn't wanna see him?"

"No! No, it's not that, I just- I… didn't sleep well?" That was true as well, but more of a symptom than a cause. He wasn't even trying to fool the older anymore; the rabbit would have to get serious.

"Mick, don't make me show you the video of my kids' birth again."  _That_  was a threat.

"Please no. Please, please,  _please_  no." Don't ask, just imagine three uninterrupted hours of – you know what? Never mind; someone thought it would be a good way for Mickey to get to know the Lucky rabbit-cat family. They could have gone on a picnic or something, but no, he was forced to watch…  _nature_. The only thing that could be said about it is that it was an experience. "Y'already made me gay the first time, I've been unable to look women in the eye since then."

"Then what is it? Problems with Minnie?" Since ladies was the topic at hand, Oswald tried that route.

"No, that's…" On the money, but – "a different story, we're takin' some time, as they say."

"Did I… really make you, you know… a sissy?" The rabbit seemed legitimately worried the video had actually affected him, but Mickey assured him that trauma was unrelated; appropriate, but unrelated.

"If I've ever been one it was before I saw your wife spawnin' green furballs; it's more about kids growin' up and realizin' some things." Hopefully the kid he was talking about was himself. In any case, Oswald didn't like hearing his brother had sentimental issues, even if he dismissed them himself; at the very least the mouse was opening up. Baby steps, but he'd like to know a little more.

"You really can't tell me why you're here?"

"I told you, I-" Not again.

"Mick, please, you don't have to lie to me; c'mon, we're good after The Thinner Disaster. Whatever it is, it can't be worse."

That really did resonate within Mickey. Oswald used a extreme example, but what he had done in Sora's world was quite extreme as well… he could see the real older brother the rabbit was, he knew he could trust him because after everything he had done, the former artist held no grudges against him.

And that was what scared Mickey the most; doing something wrong and losing him... he had wronged a whole world again, he had wronged people that considered him a friend, and he didn't know how forgiving Oswald and everyone else truly were. He knew that, if he pushed it, he'd end up with nothing, and he didn't want that; he was on the edge of losing everything, but something inside him kept saying he should tell the truth, a mute voice that yelled  _'you get what you deserve.'_

He couldn't completely ignore his conscience, nor did he want to commit metaphorical suicide; his only choice was the path in the middle. A half-truth.

"I… I wanted to get away from work." The mouse sounded defeated, and fortunately for him Oswald interpreted it as Mickey giving up and spilling the beans; it worked exceptionally well for it was something close to the rabbit as well.

"Don't tell me you're skipping shootings."

"No, it's not that. Gosh, I don't even really work anymore, I haven't been in a show in… fifteen, twenty years?" That wasn't a lie; it was one of the reasons why Kingdom Hearts was going to become a thing.

"What, really?"

"Yeah, nowadays I'm a- a symbol. You see these?" The rodent pointed at his more than recognizable ears and Oswald nodded. "That's all people need to see, not me; print them on clothes, play a recording of someone imitating my voice sayin'  _'oh boy, that's swell, hot diggity dog'_  and you're set." The way Mickey said that let Oswald imagine what he was going through; did he fear he'd be forgotten too?

Perhaps he did, but the anger and sorrow in his words didn't come from those facts.

"And what does that mean for you?"

"Who knows? Maybe it's my time to go." And at times he wished it was… what would happen if he lost his heart? Would he become a nobody? In a way, the denizens of Wasteland were nobodies as well; he wouldn't mind being one of those.

"Did you come here looking for a permanent residence?" Not even Oswald knew if his question was serious or a joke, but Mickey had his answer ready.

"Y'all seem happier here than anyone up there."

A moment went by. The mood had gotten heavier again.

"Is it really that bad?" Oswald wanted to believe Mickey was exaggerating to make him feel better, but he didn't have any reason to think the mouse would do that. They had different lives, he didn't think one was better than the other.

"I really don't know… I could be getting old and nostalgic."

Another silent instant.

Oswald thought about the time he felt that way, when he started to be put aside by those he believed cared about him, when he began losing what made him  _him_  and had no one to turn to. He tried to think of some words of encouragement to say to his brother, but before he could open his mouth, Mickey shot a heavy question his way.

"If you had the chance, would you go back? Would you want'ta be an actor again?"

The rabbit didn't have to wonder for long. "You know I can't, I don't have a-"

"But if you did; if everybody here did, and you could go back, would you?" Mickey started sounding anxious; he didn't care anymore if he showed the colors very few knew he had. He needed an answer, an answer to what had been eating him alive ever since he realized Oswald didn't need to be saved.

Again, the rabbit didn't have to think too much.

"No, no I wouldn't. This is my home. I wouldn't have time to see my family, and I haven't acted in lord knows how many years; I'm happy with the life I have now, I wouldn't change it for nothin'."

_'Thought so.'_

Mickey said nothing; that was the response he expected, the one that confirmed he was wrong. Surprisingly enough, he wasn't disappointed; on the contrary, he felt relieved. It meant his brother was living a life he enjoyed, and that he was right on that he was wrong; Oswald helped him understand that he was an idiot. God, who knows what would have really happened if he just grabbed a stranger's heart and shoved it in his brother…

And what he had done to Sora's world, well, no one said it had to be over. He was Mickey Mouse, he lived off of luck and making fantasies real! He'd have to act more; sure, that's what playing a character means – but if he could keep everyone happy, he wouldn't have to… confess.

Perhaps if he lied to himself too the whole thing would become a reality.

"Where's that coming from, Mickey?" From what the rabbit had gathered, his brother was afraid he'd share his same fate; if that were the case, well… he'd have a house to refurbish.

"I was curious." He had been for decades; he just took way too long to ask his brother what he really wanted. "I wouldn't know what to do if someone sent me a script today."

"But you still know how to act."

"You think so? You didn't believe me when I told you I just came to see you." He had a point there.

"You didn't put your heart into your performance." Oswald had a point too.

Mickey's only response was a dry chuckle.

_'My heart…'_

The way his brother looked, the older was inclined to believe he was beyond saving. He wouldn't press more on the issue, he knew well how much that hurt.

I guess nothing lasts forever.

"Mick, no matter what happens, you'll always be welcome here."

The aforementioned mouse got some comfort from hearing that; the rabbit hadn't rejected him given Mickey never got to reveal what he had done, and he was sure he'd need a place to hide at some point. He felt like a criminal; next thing you know he's getting arrested before the very eyes of his only family… would Oswald go visit him to jail?

"Thank you, Oswald. I really mean it."

"Anytime."

But had all the troubles he caused been for nothing? What was he supposed to do next? Go back and try to keep up his lie? Shift the blame? Fuck, he was too impulsive, only considering the consequences once they blew up in his face.

"Maybe I'll stay here for a while."

"Sure, but won't anyone out there miss you? You told me you're not workin' much lately, but still, I'm sure there's people who care about you."

Mickey looked at the turbid sky above Mickeyjunk Mountain, as if he could see through it, imagining the faces of those that could be thinking of him as well. Would they miss him?

"…to tell you the truth, I don't know."

He learnt from experience that he couldn't keep acting forever. He could hide, run away and hope that time would make it all go away before his deeds came back to haunt him; at least in Wasteland he had a tangible enemy to defeat, the one that granted him redemption, but in Sora's world… would he have to fight himself? How bad would it be if he wished for a new threat to appear so he could be the hero once again?

He told those that considered him a dear friend he'd always be in their hearts; he couldn't say the same to Oswald, no matter how bad he wanted to. Maybe it was for the best that he couldn't; he was bad with promises.

Collecting hearts for the inhabitants of Wasteland had earned him nothing. Deciding to abandon the project based on the lives of some children that didn't know what they were getting into wouldn't grant him the forgiveness he craved. He didn't dare to ask for it; perhaps they would even absolve him, but he didn't deserve that.

After all, the brave little king was an idiot, an irresponsible coward and a liar.

No matter who did or didn't remember them, the inhabitants of Wasteland had hearts; hearts as they were considered in Sora's world, at least. Mickey on the other hand… he was heartless; heartless as they're considered in our world.

Perhaps that was his punishment for not believing in Kingdom Hearts.

"Hey, did you know that Walt wasn't really our, you know… dad?"

"Yeah, sure."

"It's true. Turns out it was a man named Ub who created us."

"Who ever did you hear that from?"

"Roy told me."

"And who's Roy?"

"He was Walt's nephew."

"I didn't know he had more family..."

"He was born after us. He-"

"Mick… sorry, but I don't want'ta hear it."

"No problem, Os."

One more thing to keep to himself wouldn't change anything.

RECCONECT.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure what that was about. Download Epic Mickey if you like games that tell you to your face they hate you.
> 
> have you seen furries are arguing again? like gosh darn pal, puppywaffs the nut thirsty neon german shepherd out there like tupac in 94


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